Postdoctoral researcher

University of Minnesota

St. Paul, MN, USA

Nov 2019 - Present

• Wrangled, visualized, and managed large datasets ( 2-5 GB) using R Tidyverse & data.table packages, and ensured team members have access to clean and complete data
• Used general additive models and random forest algorithms within a parallel computing framework that reduced computation time by 50%
• Incorporated spatial simulations and point pattern analyses in developing spatially-explicit predictive models
• Created R Markdown reports to ensure reproducibility and transparency of data analysis workflows for clients and collaborators
• Effectively used Git & GitHub to keep team members and clients informed of coding updates and changes

Postdoctoral researcher

Toronto Metropoliton University

Toronto,ON, Canada

Jul 2016 - Sep 2019

• Excelled in the use of R Tidyverse package & MS Access by taking the lead in managing and manipulating a large contaminant monitoring databases with >100,00 records
• Developed piecewise structural equation models to untangle the direct and indirect effects of climate and land-use on fish mercury levels
• Combined Bayesian mixed-effects models and geostatistical kriging in R to develop accurate predictive models & maps of fish mercury levels
• Successfully designed & developed a prototype data visualization dashboard for a local client using R Shiny & Leaflet packages

Postdoctoral researcher

University of California - Riverside

Riverside, CA, USA

Feb 2014 - Jun 2016

• Cleaned, integrated, and analyzed multiple monitoring datasets containing ~80,000 trap detection records spanning 6 years and 10 counties in R
• Successfully coordinated with USDA in spatial data analysis, and provided the results and insights needed for proactive management
• Developed predictive models and risk maps of insect pest outbreaks using auto-logistic regression models
• Integrated landscape pattern analysis and survival analysis to quantify the urban-agricultural spillover of an invasive insect pest

Graduate student researcher

Iowa State University

Ames, IA, USA

Aug 2010 - Dec 2013

• Collaborated with Minnesota DNR and developed Bayesian logistic regression models and invasion risk maps in R & ArcGIS
• Cleaned and integrated long-term survey data spanning 19 years containing 1,600 occurrence records with land cover data using R and ArcGIS
• Developed and published mathematical models simulating the effects of insect folivory on a perennial plant with belowground biomass

St. Xaviers College

B.S. in Botany & Zoology

Mumbai, MH, India

1999

Oklahoma State University

M.S. in Ecology

Stillwater, OK, USA

2006

Iowa State University

Ph.D. in Ecology & Evolutionary Biology

Ames, IA, USA

2013

Diversity (Virtual) Travel Award ~ US$ 225

International Association of Landscape Ecology, Annual Conference

Reno, NV, USA

2021

Highly Qualified Personnel Leadership Award ~ C$ 15,000

India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability

Vancouver, BC, Canada

2019

Best in Science Grant ~ C$ 99,600

Ontario Ministry of Environment & Climate Change

Ontario, Canda

2017

DNR Short-term research grant ~ US$ 3,039

Minnesota Department of Natural Resources

St. Paul, MN, USA

2011

Mercury bioaccumulation in fish: a study of patterns, processes, and predictions across Ontario, Canada.

Ryerson University

Toronto, ON, Canada

Mar 2021

Will property values cool as AIS heat up?

Annual Research & Management Showcase, Minnesota Aquatic Invasive Species Research Center, University of Minnesota

Saint Paul, MN, USA

Sep 2020

Introduction and spread of an invasive insect in urban south California: role of roads and urban sprawl

North American Congress for Conservation Biology

Toronto, ON, Canada

Jul 2018

Quantifying spillover of an urban invasive vector of plant disease: Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri) in California citrus Frontiers in Insect Science

N/A

N/A

2022

Species distribution models for invasive Eurasian watermilfoil highlight the importance of data quality and limitations of discrimination accuracy metrics Ecology & Evolution

N/A

N/A

2021

Climate and landscape conditions indirectly affect fish mercury levels by altering lake water chemistry and fish size Environmental Research

N/A

N/A

2020

Structural Equation Modeling

University of Sherbrooke

Sherbrooke, QB, CA

2018

Matrices & Linear Algebra

Iowa state university

Ames, IA, USA

2010

Statistics for Spatial Data

Iowa state university

Ames, IA, USA

2009

GIS for Natural Resource Mgt.

Iowa state university

Ames, IA, USA

2008

Agent-based Modeling in Ecology

Dresden University of Technology

Dresden, Germany

2008

Multivariate Methods for Ecology

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater, OK, USA

2005

Statistics for Experimenters I & II

Oklahoma State University

Stillwater, OK, USA

2004

Volunteering member of International Association of Landscape Ecology – North America chapter’s Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (IALE-NA EID) committee

International Association of Landscape Ecology

N/A

2022

Completed Multicultural Inclusive Learning & Teaching semester long webinar

University of Minnesota

Saint Paul, MN, USA

2021

Organized two-day citizen science workshop and ensured women representation among invited speakers, and financial support for students, and accessibility

IC-IMPACTS

Bangalore, KA, India

2019

Member of International Association of Landscape Ecology

N/A

N/A

Current

LAND journal reviewer board member

N/A

N/A

Current

Member of University of Minnesota Postdoctoral Association

N/A

N/A

Current